The Avon Town Council on Oct. 23 approved purchasing six police vehicles from Kelly Chevrolet and authorized financing the purchase, and later declared certain older police vehicles surplus to be sold at auction.

Lieutenant Steve Barton, Avon Police Department training coordinator, told the council the department had budgeted to buy six vehicles in 2026 but learned the dealership had seven patrol-ready vehicles on the lot now. He said purchasing now and financing would let the town secure vehicles at current pricing, accelerate replacement of high-mileage units and reduce maintenance costs on aging vehicles.

“The first thing… is that if we do wait till next year and make a purchase, they're gonna go up by about 7 percent,” Barton said, quoting a salesperson’s estimate and saying that equates to about $3,600 per vehicle and roughly $22,000 in savings if the town buys six now. He said several current pool vehicles are model years 2015–2016 with more than 100,000 miles and are incurring increasing maintenance costs.

Barton and town staff said vehicles on the dealership lot could be held until financing is arranged and that the first payment would not be due until next year — the department planned to structure financing so payments begin in spring and to upfit vehicles using proceeds from surplus sales and recent unexpected revenue. Town staff said they expect to present an additional appropriation later this year for surplus-sale revenue and other unanticipated funds to be applied toward outfitting new vehicles.

Councilmember discussion covered where retired vehicles would go and how auction proceeds are handled. Deputy Chief David Morgerson described one example vehicle — a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe with more than 150,000 miles — that needed about $3,000 in repairs and was taken out of service as uneconomical to repair. He said the town has used a Plainfield-based auctioneer (Odessa) to sell surplused vehicles and that auction fees are minimal.

Council approved the purchase and financing authorization for the six vehicles on roll call and later approved a separate resolution declaring the identified police vehicles surplus property so they may be sold. Staff said surplus auction proceeds will be returned to the appropriate revenue line and may be used toward vehicle upfitting and other department needs.